Hanako usually responded to messages right away, but Asayama waited for about 30 minutes and still received no reply. “It’s getting late, so I will go home,” Asayama said in a message to Hanako.

In August, Hanako’s mother, Hiroko Abe, celebrated Obon for the second time since her daughter passed away. Hiroko is still searching for a lawyer to sue the county and others over Hanako’s death.